The field of the disclosure relates generally to gas turbine engines and, more particularly, to a method and system for producing composite parts for gas turbine engines by applying composite fibers in an automated fiber placement process.
Composite fiber placement has become increasingly used for the manufacture of composite parts. Automatic fiber placement (AFP) devices may be used to reduce the cost and manufacturing time associated with the production of composite parts, as well as to enhance the quality of the composite parts produced using these devices. Some existing AFP devices have incorporated heating elements, such as quartz lamps, to heat the workpiece material forward of the laydown tape in order to enhance the compaction and workability of the material. However, existing heated AFP tools heat the workpiece surface at a fixed rate and fixed location relative to the AFP tool head. As the laminate tape is applied, the heat source moves farther away from the laydown surface, resulting in cooling of the laminate after the AFP tool head has passed. In addition, the separation distance between the heating elements of some existing AFP devices and the workpiece surface may vary depending on whether the AFP tool head is passing over a level workpiece surface (see FIG. 1A), a convex workpiece surface (see FIG. 1B), or a concave workpiece surface (see FIG. 1C), resulting in different degrees of heating of the workpiece surface. This existing method of heating cannot compensate for sudden changes in the speed at which the composite fibers are applied, variations in separation distance between heating elements and workpiece surface due to variations in workpiece surface contours, or for differences in thickness of the workpiece upon which the laydown tape is applied.